Finding Your Way

Semi's aren't supposed to go that slow. Then again, semi's don't usually traverse through Eden Park either.

And rarely do semi's stop in the middle of Eden Park Drive and never does the driver hop out.

But as I continued my morning run, I saw the truck driver walking towards me and I realized he was lost.

"Where are you headed?" I huff, catching my breath.

"I was headed to Playhouse in the Park, but can't find it on Gilbert Avenue. I think these directions are wrong"

Rookie mistake. Even though Playhouse sits in Eden Park, their props garage is on Gilbert Avenue in Walnut Hills. It took me a few seconds to redirect him and he was on his way.

This has happened many times before, especially over the past couple of years since I've done marathon training. Drivers will see me jogging through Walnut Hills, Hyde Park, or Downtown, pull over, and ask me directions. I am the remedy for the locationally challenged.

I've been asked directions to the Art Museum. I've been asked directions to Krohn Conservatory. I've been asked directions to Xavier. I've been asked directions to Blue Ash (yeah, they were way off target). While in Newport, I've been asked directions to downtown (cross the river).

I must emit some sort of approachable vibe. Or it could also be that I'm a middle-class white dude running through predominantly black neighborhoods (nearly 100% of the people who stop me are white). Regardless of why they approach me, I attempt to give them thorough directions. It's the least I can do as friendly representative of our fair city.

The only issue I have is that stopping me is not entirely helpful to my cardio. I have to stop, catch my breath long enough to formulate some sentences, and then try to get back in rhythm. And it ruins my time. But I kinda like it. I love for people to get the sense that the city is a safe, friendly place. Maybe seeing that people are out on the streets, embracing urban living, will slowly change perceptions.

So next time you get lost, check out your GPS: your Global Positioning Steve.

See what I did there?

Life Interrupted

I committed to blogging more frequently in 2011. Considering that I haven't written anything since the middle of January, it would seem that I'm a failure. But we had a family issue during the past few weeks that kept me from posting regular thoughts online. Almost three weeks ago, my father had a small heart attack. Although it scared our family (causing all of my siblings to drop everything and converge on the hospital), it didn't seem too serious. But further examination of my father's heart revealed the need for open heart surgery; two weeks ago dad had quadruple-bypass surgery. My father is probably the toughest man I've ever known, but this surgery hit him hard. He was in the hospital just four days after the surgery before they sent him home. And since then he's been at home, slowly recuperating and getting stronger day-by-day. Dad will make a full recovery, but this will usher in a new period in his life. It will require significant health adjustments on his part to ensure that his heart will remain strong.

I don't want to share too much about the past few weeks because our family prefers to keep some things private. But God utilized this situation to provide me with some observations/lessons that I think are worth recording.

I'm so proud to be my father's son.

It was unbelievable to see the outpouring of concern for my father. During this time, I was able to fully realize how much he means to other people. I even got to meet (for the first time) people who credit him for being a major presence in their lives. My Dad has always been my hero but I'm beginning to recognize how much I resemble him. He's creative, pastoral, has a sense of humor, and is relentless. And I'm glad that I'm like him. No doubt: he's made me the man that I am.

I'm proud of my mother and siblings.

Obviously this entire experience was taxing on my mother, but she's been a machine during the past couple of weeks—spending marathon hours in the hospital. Both my parents have workoholic tendencies, and Mom was able to channel hers into caring for Dad. Additionally, brothers and sisters filled specific roles during this time: Becky came down from Indianapolis and took care of Mom; Chris was the resident medical expert, able to communicate exactly what was going on to the rest of the family; Tim held down all the business matters, keeping things going and hidden from Dad. And the in-laws (Josh, Mandi, Heather, and Kelly) all stepped up and pitched in to keep us sane. God has blessed us with an amazing family, which made this whole process bearable.

You have to take care of yourself.

My father has constantly lived life in the service of others. He operates at 100 miles per hour to care for family and friends. As a result, he's done a poor job of making sure he was doing well. I want to respect this, because Dad's committed to give his all for others. But there's still plenty of work left for him to accomplish and, in order to see this fruition, he's going to have to commit to look after himself better. It's a good reminder to me too because I have some of those tendencies in my own life.

The saying goes, "never waste a crisis." I know that I didn't. While the past few weeks were tiring, I'm just grateful to have my father here. I'm looking forward to seeing how he embraces this next chapter in his life.

Tick . . . tick . . . tick

I'm not entirely certain whether it was Hootie or the Blowfish who said it, but the lyric goes, "time, why you punish me?" One of the only things in this world that you cannot purchase is time. Even with all of the technological innovations of the past decades that were designed to give us more time, we continue to struggle to do everything that we want. So what you decide to do with your precious hours are critical.

Take, for example, Paul M.L. Janssen. A professor at THE Ohio State University, he spend vast commodities of his time constructing a Lego replica of "The Horseshoe" (Ohio Stadium, where the Buckeyes play). The street value of the Legos is around $75,000, although he was able to secure the majority of those at a discounted price. But I'm less amazed at the financial cost, and more at the man hours: after spending three years acquiring the necessary bricks, it took Janssen two years to construct it.

Two years. Playing with Legos.

True, Janssen also had a life outside of that, working his day job at the University. And I'm hoping he took some time off to play with his three kids (there's no way he let them anywhere near the project, right?). But still, two years devoted to anything like that is amazing. What else could he have done in those two years of free time?

Learn another language? Teach his kids some discernable skill? Exercise? Make lists of things he could do if he had two years of free time?

Far be it from me to criticize someone else for how they spend their time; I too waste too much time with trivial matters. But maybe I can let someone else criticize the lot of us.

My friend Sara has spent the better part of her twenties living in our Walnut Hills neighborhood, working as a "house mom" to some under-privilidged kids. Her sacrificial spirit is absolutely amazing; she has bent over backwards trying to give her girls a better life. Very few people would choose to adopt her lifestyle. But, sadly, she's quitting this job so she can go do something else.

Two years. Serving in the Peace Corps.

For the next two years, she'll work in an extremely impoverished nation helping the locals better their lives. She'll live in want to support those who have nothing. She'll abandon the comforts of home, leaving family and friends behind, in the name of service. I sure wish I could be like her when I grow up.

It makes me realize that I need to continually reevaluate how I'm managing my life. Am I making the most of my time, not just for me, but for the benefit of those around me?

The year is still new. What are you willing to sacrifice, freeing up your time, so that you can make this world a better place.

Type(Up)Setting

What started by a simple Facebook posting about good grammar turned into a virtual cyber-throwdown. I found an article on Slate stating that people should cease to hit the space bar twice after a period ending a sentence. The article asserts that people began to use two spaces because of old typewriters; it made it easier to distinguish between sentences when reading. Yet these typewriters were retired in the 1970's, meaning the need for two spaces evaporated with them. And yet, almost 40 years later, many people still hold to this antiquated practice. Interestingly enough, my brother informed me today that the American Psychological Association (protectors of the APA style of writing papers) still requires two spaces. A little investigation on my own revealed that this decision was a recent reversal, and was supposed to be limited to drafts.

Regardless of where you come down on the spacing issue, step back and look at this: the reason we started two spacing was a way of adapting to the current technology. But then the technology evolved, making two spaces unnecessary, and teachers everywhere still continued to enforce the statute. You have to wonder why, and the only explanation I have is the what that drives my perplexity about all of this:

BECAUSE THAT IS HOW I WAS TAUGHT.

Like most of you, I was taught many a thing throughout my youth. Even though mine was a public education, I feel that my school district did an above average job of giving me the tools with which to succeed. I had a wide range of teachers—some excellent, some pathetic—but, regardless, I was stuffed with knowledge. As a tribute, I still keep my (miniature) high school diploma on my desk at work.

But over the years, I came to discover that some of the things I was taught throughout my youth was incorrect.

I don't blame the teachers for purposely leading me astray; remember: these were the days before the worldwide web. Specific nuggets of wisdom were more difficult to verify and wives' tales and rumors were passed down through generations as if they were the law. Technology has now given all of us access to unfettered information and we can now fact check for ourselves things that sound fishy. SIDEBAR: this is why many of you still need to bookmark Snopes in your web browser. I'm tired of your emails telling me Facebook is shutting down on March 15th.

You see, as I grew older, I figured out how to distinguish between fact and fiction. I "traded in" incorrect knowledge for more accurate fare and continue to go about my life. I fully recognize that I'm not done with this process. I'm sure there are things I know to be true today that I will discard in the future when they're proved to be false. It's how life works.

Perhaps this speaks to the point of the recently released study of college grads. New York University sociologist Richard Arum spent the last half of last decade studying a group of college students. Almost half of the students made no improvement in their critical thinking, reasoning or writing skills after two years time. After four years, thirty-six percent of the students still hadn't developed. They went through higher education, but did not advance in their thinking. I hope they at least mastered Call of Duty.

We're approaching an era where merely possessing facts won't cut it; more and more people will use the interwebs as their factual cheat, similar to the way we use a calculator for mathematics. But it will be critical that people are able to discern fact from opinion and run with it. Those who cannot will be mired in the past and be viewed like someone . . . well . . . who still uses a typewriter.

You might have been taught to use two spaces but it's time to give it up. Live in the now, man. Live in the now.

Showcasing the City

If you're not watching TLC's Police Women of Cincinnati, I'd encourage you to set your DVRs accordingly. The new series (part of an older franchise which previously explored other metropolitan areas) follows the duties of four policewomen on the Cincinnati Police Department. I'm already hooked. Some of the positives I took away from episode one:

• They selected interesting ladies to follow. They seem incredibly competent and their interviews segments are compelling. I know I've met one of the officers (in front of my house) and I think I met another one around the community.
• My 1990's exposure to "COPS" wore me out on these reality cop shows. But this show has a totally different feel. It was much more human.
• Thus far, they seem balanced in their representation of urban issues. I've met a couple CPD officers who possess absolute disdain for their beat. But I've met many who truly love the people they protect. I think we'll get to see that even more in future episodes.
• HD viewers are rewarded with some absolutely stunning night images of the city. I'm not sure who did their aerial filming, but I haven't seen better . . . ever.

That said, I harbor some hesitation about this show. I don't fear how outsiders will perceive our town as a result of the show (previous installments covered Dallas, Memphis, and South Florida. Those places have survived). No, my concern is for how Greater Cincinnatians will think of our urban areas.

There is already a prevailing city verses the suburbs attitude here. Our local media does little to regulate that, quick to highlight crimes near the city center while virtually ignoring evils committed in the 'burbs (a recent armed robbery at the West Chester Kroger received minimal coverage). Unfortunately, this new TLC show will do nothing but reinforce the negative opinions harbored against the city by those from this area. Cincinnati is not overtly violent and dangerous. We have no more issues than any other city our size. But many local residents will tell you otherwise.

I'll give you an example. I was in our cafeteria earlier today talking to a CPD officer and I asked him if he watched the show. He said he did and enjoyed it. He then asked my opinion. I told him that I wasn't too excited that my street was featured about six times, but that it was interesting TV. As we wrapped up our conversation, he encouraged me to, "be safe around your neighborhood."

This CPD officer knew where I lived and thought I was crazy for living there. If this is how someone who knows my neighborhood feels, how much worse an opinion do those who have never been here have?

Friends, I live in a safe place. When things go bump in the night, I'm never more concerned than I was when the same happened at our house in the suburbs. Many of the "dangerous streets" highlighted in last night's episode are those I've traversed on foot many-a-time. I fully recognize that you might not want to live here, but don't disparage it just because you don't understand it. For every thug they on television, there are hundreds of right-living people in the community. Urban life can be messy and chaotic, but it can also be beautiful. There's diversity. There's uniqueness. There's a neighborhood that has it's own personality. These are things I've never felt in my suburban life.

So go ahead and watch this show but don't succumb to the lowest common denominator. There's no need to blow up the city and start over. There are good people here who are doing their best to eek out an existence. The city doesn't have a monopoly on lowlifes. They're all over the place.

And as for me, I'll keep watching the show too. Who knows, I just might see my house.

It's Not My Idea

Today at the office a prospective student informed my that he prayed about his college application and the Holy Spirit informed him that he shouldn't hand in his old college transcripts; he was led into making a fresh start. I love it when the Spirit meddles in academic affairs.

Tonight, we ate out with friends at El Rancho Grande (a.k.a. the best Mexican food this side of the border) and our server was a man named Jesus.

And then I thought, "what if?"

If I wrote out on a piece of paper the following message:

"Sir, you should really hand in your old college transcripts."

And if I then gave the message to our server and have him read it out loud.

And if tomorrow, when I get into the office, I call this student and say, "I talked to Jesus and he said, 'Sir, you should really hand in your old college transcripts'. And since Jesus trumps the Holy Spirit, you should call that college ASAP."

I decided, instead, to eat more salsa.

Cincy Hee Hee

Last night the Mrs. and I took in a show over at the Playhouse in the Park. We settled down in one of their smaller theaters (the venue where our friends David and Rachel were wed) and enjoyed The Second City Does Cincinnati. For those of you unfamiliar with the Second City, it's a Chicago-based comedy club which has served as the launching pad for some of the greatest comedians in the industry. They actually teach comedy, specializing in improvisation, and act as a feeder for Saturday Night Live. Back in July, this particular comedy team spent a week in Cincinnati developing material for the show. I'll admit, I was somewhat skeptical that these outsiders would be able to capture the essence of our town, but they nailed it. The bits ranged from short to long, from monologue to song, but they effectively harnessed a Cincinnati vibe and put on some good comedy— poking fun at P&G, Pete Rose, and even the controversial downtown streetcar. My favorite bit was a Westside story spoof, highlighting Cincinnati's Eastside verses Westside debate. They're running the show a few more days (until January 16th), so there's still a chance for you to catch it. While some of the humor is PG-13, there's nothing to salacious for a minister to stand.

Besides a ton of laughs, my take away from the show was one of gratitude for our city. Yes, I've lived here my entire life so I'm a little biased, but this is a fantastic town. Like any other town, we have our peculiarities, but it's a culture of our own. Ours is a great metropolis, one of which we should be proud.

But the least we can do is laugh at ourselves. I mean, we are the city that elected Jerry Springer mayor.

This Year Just Feels New

It's funny how a new calendar makes us feel different. It's like when you pull out that new pair of gym shoes an inhale the glorious newness. I haven't accomplished nearly as much as would've liked to in this first week of the year, but perhaps that's because I'm still smelling my shoes. Whatever that means.

Unlike the days of my youth, I'm not struggling to remember to write the correct year. Perhaps it's because I rarely write checks anymore, but upon the completion of this first full week, I'm well aware that it's 2011. I have yet to correct myself writing the wrong year. Huzzah.

No huge resolutions for me, just some tuning up. Among other things:

• I'm slowly trying to cut back my Diet Coke intake. Do not be alarmed: I'm not eliminating it, just moderating it. I'm kinda ashamed to admit how much I was consuming per day. I find myself drinking more iced-tea. Still not drinking a ton of water. The agua around the office should be treated as if it's from a developing country— avoided at all cost.
• Trying to get to bed earlier. Thus far, I've failed miserably. But teaching a late night class out of town on Mondays has skewed the rest of the week. We'll see how that works out.
• I'm back to training for the Flying Pig Marathon. This would mark my fourth Pig, and my third 26.2. I feel like I'm finally figuring out how to do this thing. So we'll see if I can avoid injury and achieve a personal best this spring.

One more thing: since turning thirty-five, I've been wondering about my eyes. Today I actually had to increase the font size on my internet browser. I feel like I'm starting to strain to read very small print. I'm fully aware that I'm going to need reading glasses some day. Perhaps it's time for a return trip to the optometrist. Unfortunately, I just bought a long term set of contacts. Brilliant, eh?

Maybe I'll blog a bit more too. That would be novel.

My Humorous Birthday

Many thanks to those who overloaded my Facebook page with birthday greetings. The hardest thing I had to do today was delete all those email notifications. I asked for jokes and you delivered. Multiple people offered up, "a man walked into a bar . . ." joke. Two kids were able to submit the "spell 'i cup.'" Classic. And then there's my daughter's submission: "What's your name?" You say: Daddy. "What's this?" You: nose. "What's in my hands?" You: nothing. "Daddy knows nothing!" Sorry I didn't attribute the name to each joke, but here they all are. And scroll to the end to see who won joke of the birthday.

· A pirate captain walks into the local tavern. The bar tender notices that attached to the front of the pirates pants is the 3 foot steering wheel from a ship. It's very large and awkward and very clearly makes it difficult for the pirate to walk. But, dubloons are dubloons, s...o the bar tender keeps his mouth shut, and the pirate orders a beer. For a long time, the pirate sits uncomfortably at the bar trying to drink. He changes positions, he stands up, he sits down, he leans against the bar. He is very clearly uncomfortable. Finally, when the bar tender can stand no longer he asks the pirate captain, "Hey there friend, I hope you don't mind me asking, but why is there a ships wheel attached to your crotch?" The pirate captain looks at the barkeep with his good eye and says, "Arr, matey! It's drivin' me nuts!"

· 83 fish in a tank, 27 drowned. How many fish are left? STOP COUNTING SILLY! Fish cant drown!

· Why was the baby strawberry sad? Because her mom got in a jam.

· Why was Piglet looking in the toilet? He was looking for Pooh.

· Knock knock Who's there. Dwayne. Dwayne who? Dwayne the bathtub, I'm drownding.

· What do you get when you cross an elephant and a rhino? Elephino???

· Why do mailmen drive red, white, and blue trucks? To deliver the mail!

· Q: What has wings, a long tail, and wears a bow? A: A birthday pheasant!

· "Doc," he said, "I keep having these alternating recurring dreams. First I'm a teepee, then I'm a wigwam, then I'm a teepee, and then I'm a wigwam. It's driving me crazy. What's wrong with me?"The doctor replied, "It's very simple. You're two tents."

· What did the hat say to the other hats on the hatrack? You stay here while i go on ahead

· What does the cow read every morning? The moooooospaper.

· Why should you never let a pokemon see you change clothes? Because he might pichachu.

· Why did the turtle cross the road? to get to the Shell Station.

· "Why did the police officer stay in bed? Because he was working under cover."

· A fish is swimming along, runs into a wall, and screams "dam"

· A skeleton sits down at a bar; he orders a beer and a mop...

· Robin: My sister went on vacation. Steve: Jamaica? Robin: No - She wanted to go!

· A priest, a rabbi and a whale walk into a bar. The priest says I'll have red wine as a reminder of the sacramental wine. The rabbi says I'll have kosher wine as a reminder of the covenant between the Jewish people and God. The whale says... WHHAAAAHHHAAAAAAAAAAA.

· Two Blonds drove 12 hours on a trip to Disney World. They were almost to their destination when they passed a sign saying "Disney World Left". They both started crying and turned around and started for home

· Knock Knock... Who's there?.... Lettuce.... Lettuce who?.... Let us be friends

· An elderly woman walked into a country church. The Usher greeted her and asked where she would like to sit. Front row she said. Usher said she really didn't want to do that because the preacher is really boring. The lady asks if he knew who she is and informed him she was the preachers mother. Usher asks if she knew who he was and when she said NO he replied GOOD and left.....

· Have you heard about the new corduroy pillows? They're making head lines!

· Teachers who take class attendance are absent-minded.

· Why are celebrities so cool? 'Cause they have a lot of fans.

· Why did the chicken cross the road? To get to the other side!

· What did the brown chick say to the brown cow? Brown-chicka brown-cow!

· Hundreds of years ago, the Pope decided to kick the Jews out of the Vatican. The Jews weren't pleased, so they convinced the bishops to let them debate the issue. Since their best debater, a man named Shlomo, didn't speak any Latin they decided to have a silent debate. Shlomo sat across the table from the Pope. The Po...pe held up three fingers. Shlomo held up one. The Pope made a circular gesture around his head. Shlomo pointed at the table. The Pope took out some wine and a wafer. Shlomo took out an apple. The Pope stood up and conceded the debate. Later on, the bishops asked the Pope what happened. "He had an answer for everything!" he said. "I showed him three fingers referring to the trinity, but he held up one to remind us of the one God we share. I told him God was all around us,... but he pointed out that God was right here with us too. I brought out some wine and a wafer to remind him of the cleansing of our sins, and he took out an apple to remind us of the original sin. It was too much." Later on, the Jews were asking Shlomo what happened. "Well, it was weird," he said. "He said we had three days to get out. I said not a single one of us is leaving. He told me that everyone around us wanted us gone, but I said we're staying right here." "And then what?" someone asked. "Well, he took out his lunch and I took out mine."

· A no-armed man goes into a church and asks if he can get a job there. The man he talks to says, "The only job we have is the person who tells our bell ringer when to ring the bell every hour." The no-armed man accepts the job.The next day o...n his first day of work, he tries to find the man to tell him it's two o'clock. When he cannot find the man, he panics and rings the bell by banging his forehead against it. Only afterward does he realize that the man he was looking for was on the other side of the bell tower. Unfortunately, the man is so surprised, he falls off the tower and onto the street below. By some miracle, he survives. After pushing his way through a crowd that had gathered around the man, the town mayor comes to the man and asks: "Who did this to you?" The man responds, "I don't remember his name, but his face rings a bell."

· What's the last thing that goes through a bugs mind when he hits the windsheild?--his butt!.

· Why don't cats play poker in the jungle? Too many cheetahs.

· Me: What's a pirate's favorite letter? You: That's easy - RRRRRRRRRR! Me: You'd think it's RRRRRRRRRR, but it's actually the C (said in my best pirate voice)

· What is the Loudest State? Illi-Noise.

· What did the buffalo say to his son as he was leaving? Bison!

· When cannon balls have kids, what are they called? Bee bees.

· What did the snail say on the Turtle's back?"Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee"

· If your parents never had children, chances are you won't either.

· A mushroom walks into a bar. Bartender takes one look at him, says, "Hey you! Get outta here!" The mushroom responds, "What's the big deal? I'm a fun guy."

· Two chocolate chip cookies are sitting in an oven, baking. One turns to the other and says, "Man, it's getting hot in here!" The second replies, "Ah! A talking cookie!"

· Two peanuts were walking in a park and one was a salted.

· Have you heard the one about the invisible man? Eh, there's not much to it.

· A group of chess enthusiasts checked into a hotel and were standing in the lobby discussing their recent tournament victories. After about an hour, the manager came out of his office and asked them to disperse. But why? they asked, as they moved off. Because, he said, I can’t stand chess nuts boasting in an open foyer.

· What happens when you scare a machine? It runs.

· It takes 7 seconds for food to pass from mouth to stomach.The human head weighs 8lbs. The length of a penis is 3 times the length of the thumb. The femur is as hard as concrete. A woman's heart beats faster then a man's. Women blink 2x as much as men. We use 300 muscles just to keep our balance when we stand. The woman... has read this entire text. The man is still looking at his thumb:)

· A guy goes into the market to buy brains for dinner (yes, some people eat them like scrambled eggs). Cows brains are $4.50/ lb., pigs brains $3.50/lb. Then he notices a sign that says UK graduate brains $2.00/lb. and U of L graduate brains $20/lb. He asks the butcher why the U of L graduate brains are so costly. The butcher says "do you know how many U of L graduates we had to harvest to get this many brains?"

· Why do gorillas have big fingers? Because they have big nostrils.

· How do you top a car? You tep on the brake tupid.

· Knock knock Who's there? Boo. Boo who? Don't cry it's only a joke.

· What is a singer's favorite part of a meal? The main Chorus!

· After the six campers were discovered missing from their tents the state police began to canvas the area.

· A man went to his dentist because he felt something wrong in his mouth. The dentist examined him and said, "That new upper plate I put in for you six months ago is eroding. What have you been eating?" The man replied, "All I can think of is that about four months ago, my wife made some asparagus and put some stuff on it... that was delicious...hollandaise sauce! I love it so much now that I put it on everything -- meat, toast, fish, vegetables, everything!"The dentist said, "Well, that's probably it. Hollandaise sauce is made with lots of lemon juice, which is highly corrosive. It's eaten away your upper plate. I'll have to make you a new one, and this time, I'll use chrome" "Why chrome?" asked the patient. "It's simple," said the dentist. "Everyone knows there's no plate like chrome for the hollandaise."

· St. Peter has to run an errand and asks Jesus to cover the Pearly Gates for him one day. "It's not too hard," says St. Peter. "Just ask them a few questions about their life -- what they did, their family, that sort of thing." So Jesus opens the gates and starts talking to people, sending some down and letting others in. He's getting to the end of the day when he sees an old man shuffling up. "Tell me about yourself, good sir." "Well, I was a carpenter by trade, and I have a son that people love very much." Jesus looks into the man's eyes and says, "Father?" And the old man squints and says, "Pinocchio?"

· Why does Santa Claus wear red? (wait for it, wait for it) Oh, just be-clause.

· Knock Knock Who's there? Mary! Mary who? Mary Christmas and a Happy New Year!

· What do you get when you cross a vampire with a snowman? Frostbite!

1. Some people wear Superman pajamas. Superman wears Chuck Norris pajamas.

2. When Chuck Norris crosses the street, the cars have to look both ways.

3. Chuck Norris is the reason why Waldo is hiding."

Yep, all those were great. But the winner, without a doubt, is the one was personalized a probably took way too long. Thanks, Byron Williams.

A few years ago Steve Carr burst into a meeting of higher level management leadership at NASA headquarters and exclaimed, “I’ve devised an intricate algorithm that will allow NASA to send a manned mission to the Sun.” Almost everyone in t...he room burst out laughing. “That’s funny”, shouted someone from the back of the room, “are you one of those birthday joke-grams?” “No”, said Steve, “I hold advance degrees from two prestigious Cincinnati universities, and I hope to someday study for my doctorate at a school in the Northeast, so you know I know what I’m talking about.” While several murmured grudging approval for Steve’s credentials, the deputy director of NASA piped in (with not too little condescension), “Look, a third grader in this country knows you can’t get within a million miles of the Sun without burning up.” Steve shouted back defiantly,” not with my patent-pending algorithm! Once again we will lead the word in space technology.”

“Ok,” said the Director of NASA, while we’re waiting on security, why don’t you enlighten us.”

“Well, began Steve, it’s really quite simple, I don’t know why you didn’t think of it before. But all you have to do…is travel at night.”

Epilogue: Steve Carr now works in a windowless basement office in a non-descript building somewhere in the Midwest. The rumor that Steve is now on the FBI, NSA and several other black-op type watch lists remains unproven.

The Fairview Experience (Part Three)

This is part of a series concerning my Fairview Experience. Part One is here, Part Two is Here. Even though it's a month later, I want to revisit my camping experience by getting spiritual. What did my camping excursion mean to me?

Currently, at Echo Church, we're studying the book of Exodus. Since October, we've been taking a week-by-week look at the Ten Commandments. The Sunday before my camping experience, I taught on the commandment to observe the Sabbath.

I've taught on Sabbath numerous times before. They say that if you ever want to know the sins of your preacher, look at what he preaches about the most. I guess I'm guilty of not resting. I enjoy my work, holding down a couple of gigs which keep me fairly busy. The Monday after this sermon, a person from church asked when I was going to take my Sabbath. "I don't really have the time right now," I responded. "Maybe later this year."

And then, I had to camp out to get my kid into school.

Once I set up my tent on Friday, I pulled out my lawn chair and started grading papers. I finished that quickly and thus ended my to-do list. In anticipation of having to miss church on Sunday, I had farmed out all of those responsibilities, so I was left with nothing I had to do. I brought along quite a few books, but I only completed one and read a few chapters in another. As I mentioned earlier, I didn't have much time to read.

We had a daily schedule where I would take the mornings, Kelly would come and give me a break in the late morning/early afternoon so I could shower and get a breather, and then I'd return for the late afternoon and spend the night. The only break was on Saturday, when it was our turn to run the local soup kitchen. I had to oversee the process (Kelly always does a phenomenal job making sure everything is ready to go), so I did duck out to see it through. But that was it.

All I had to do for four days was wait.

I think this is the main reason that I harbored so much anger about this experience at the beginning: I view my life in portions of accomplishment. There are things I have to do and things I want to do, but regardless the category, I enjoy doing. And I tend to define myself by lists, by things I've accomplished. And even though camping out itself was some kind of an accomplishment, it prevented me from being productive for multiple days.

In my sermon on Sabbath, I mentioned that the holy name of God in Hebrew (often pronounced Yahweh) is most likely connected with the verb "hiyah" (think martial arts) which means "to be." This helps explain God's answer to Moses' question at the burning bush. "I Am Who I Am" is akin to "I Be what I Be." God is. He exists. And he doesn't have to wear his hat as Creator/Sustainer in order to feel important. God can just exist, and not do. Why can't I? Why can't I just be?

That's the point of Sabbath: to allow us to just "be" and dwell on the One who did more than we could ever imagine. And not doing this is irresponsible and downright unbiblical.

And my neglect of this is the sin with which I struggle. I try to impress God and others with what I've accomplished, but that's not important. Jesus died for me and it is HIS accomplishment which defines me.

My camping excursion was a forced Sabbath, and a valuable lesson: I should probably start implementing this on my own terms so God doesn't need to correct me yet again.

The Fairview Experience (Part Two)

This is part of a series concerning my Fairview Experience. Part One is here. "You must have made a lot of friends while camping out."

No, I didn't.

To be sure, I appreciated the company of those around me. They were truly some great people and I look forward to getting to know them even better as our kids attend school together.

But there was a certain camp dynamic that presented itself, which might explain why I wasn't as socialable as you might expect. It took me a day or two to nail this down, but by the end of the experience I had pretty well mapped out the sociology of the camp. And it is best present this . . . is with a map.

Yes, the map might be overkill, but as a public speaker, I know the usefulness of visual aids. Just appreciate it.

Obviously, the big white building is the school. The line began at the main driveway entrance, and the people in line camped on the hill in front of the school. The first person in line, a law enforcement officer (later nicknamed, "The General"), set up his tent and started the sign-up sheet at approximately 4pm on Thursday afternoon. Within a couple of hours, there were almost twenty people in line. These people made up the first group.

GROUP ONE: THE FIRST RESPONDERS

While there was many different ages of people in this group, most of them seemed to be in their late forties and early fifties. These people were well prepared for the long-term experience and had their gear ready to go ahead of time. I only met one or two people from this group, and that's just because I knew someone who knew those people. Honestly, by the time these people had their numbers called by the end of the weekend, I'm not sure I could recognize any of them. They stayed in their area and, generally, stayed out of the rest of camp hijinks. I credit this to sheer topography. The area of The First Responders was on top of a hill and, there was no need for them to descend to lower ground. One of these people actually had an RV that they pulled on to site (they did, however, always have someone in line). Another had a restaurant style sidewalk heater. Their preparation was ridiculous.

After these early birds got their worms, the other birds showed up . . . um, to get their worms too.

GROUP TWO: THE FUN BUNCH

I'm thinking that this group received word that people were setting up camp and were fearful that they would miss out if they didn't get to the school ASAP. The age of this group was younger than the first—mostly people in their thirties. There was instantaneous bonding among this group. They set up a common space among the tall trees in the valley and this area became party central. I would observe that they milked all the fun to be had out of this experience. I think the fact that this group ended up camping out another night (4 nights total) contributed to the party scene. Example 1: on Saturday night, an unseasonably warm night, the sound of drunken storytelling could be heard from this area at 2:30am. Example 2: early Tuesday morning, when people were finally able to register their kids, this group formed a cheering human tunnel through which all the members could go through to end the experience. Needless to say, the masses were not impressed. All of which brings me to my group.

GROUP THREE: THE RESIGNED

Yes, our group was on their way into work on Friday morning and heard the rumors of large crowds at the school. The vast majority of us swung by just to see how things were going and were dismayed to see so many people already in line. As I noted earlier, by early Friday morning there were already over 50 people in line, so people like me, who knew they'd probably have to camp out, finally decided to pull the trigger. As a result, most of us were OK with camping out, but were kinda angry that the people at the front of the line hadn't practiced a little more patience. I'd describe our collective mood as subdued. Our ages were all over the place: a good amount of thirty somethings, with other ages sprinkled in. In the end, we all knew that we had secured a place for our children, which was distinguishing factor between us and the next folk.

GROUP FOUR: THE WORRIED

These people showed up sometime between noon and the evening on Friday. Their place in line was precarious, as they were right on the edge of those guaranteed of a place for their child. As a result, they were constantly talking about the line— the apathy of the people at the front, whether or not the RV people were legit, and were there people who had signed up but actually weren't there. On Monday morning, when we had to break down our tents and move to the sidewalk, a couple from this group came over expressing their hesitation about the process. I did my best to calm them and let them know we were all going to survive. The irony is, practically all the people in this group got their kids into the school. So the days of worrying was all for naught.

GROUP FIVE: THE END OF THE LINE

Most of these people showed up on Sunday. They were hoping that they could still get in while avoiding the long term camping. Because they were scattered about at the end of the line, I'm not sure I saw many of these people until we actually went into the school late Monday night. Sadly, they had to endure the worst night camping out, as Sunday night was by far the coldest evening to be out there. But fortunately, even though many of these parents were relegated to the wait list, they will most likely get their kids into the school.

So like I said, it wasn't this huge bonding experience for me. For me, it was almost like a time of solitude amongst many. So if I wasn't overtly social, what did I do in the down time?

• I read a book and a half. Since the most of my time was in the night hours, and I don't read well by flashlight, that's all I could fit in.
• I listened to music on my iPod while watching traffic. It was more enjoyable than it sounds.
• I walked laps around the school building in the dark. Again, it sounds pathetic, but it made time pass and provided a little exercise. I will admit that one night, I took a walk about a mile away to Mount Storm park. I'm such the rebel.
• I thought. I thought a lot.

Oh, and I camped out.

If A Blog Falls In The Forest . . .

. . . does anyone notice? Yesterday marked six years of this blog. Huzzah.

I know I should write more, but the mere fact that I still post occasionally (this makes 48 posts for 2010—almost one post a week), still makes this a legitimate endeavor.

I'm glad I can do it. Good times.

The Fairview Experience (Part One)

Attempting to recap my past weekend is so daunting, it would be impossible to fulfill in just one post. So in the next few posts, I'm going to recall some of the many observations in my great urban camping expedition. In the first two installments, I'm going to go for the overview of the entire experience. Then, in following posts, I'll outline my refined public education philosophy, as well as the spiritual lessons I learned in this process. Since Kaelyn was in her mother's womb, I knew this time would come.

The big issue that many people have with living in the city is public schooling. In the Cincinnati Public School District, you are assigned a neighborhood school for your child to attend. This school is based on geography. For example, if you live in Walnut Hills (which we do), you are assigned to attend Frederick Douglass Elementary School. Over a century ago, this school (started specifically for the local African American community) was a national model of education success. Currently, however, the school struggles to perform and has numerous academic issues. While I would actually prefer that Kaelyn attend school in our neighborhood (we're fully integrated into the life of our community in practically every other aspect, so why not the school as well?) I just couldn't send her to Douglass. My involvement with our local community council has exposed the school's numerous flaws and they frightened me. Understand that I wasn't concerned about Kaelyn's safety; I know that she could exist just fine at Douglass. My fear was the educational philosophy of the school, namely, to merely prepare students for standardized testing. While I'm OK with taking stands for what I believe, such as fully embracing our community, I refused to subject Kaelyn to this in the form of a subpar education. We needed to explore other options.

And fortunately, in Cincinnati Public, there are other options. Even though CPS struggles in the same way that many large urban school districts do, there are superior schools to be found. Many of these are magnet schools. These schools act as a magnet from the neighborhood schools, attracting all sorts of students from various communities towards unique educational models. One of the more popular and academically successful schools for elementary education in CPS is the Fairview Clifton German Language School* (yes, children attending this school begin to learn German in Kindergarten). I became familiar with the school as many CCU faculty and staff have sent or are sending their children there to be educated. Everyone I have encountered who have been involved in the school speaks highly of the education provided there. Honestly, the presence of Fairview gave me confidence in moving back into the city, knowing that there was the opportunity to get my child a strong public education. We've always planned to send Kaelyn there.

Fairview is very popular, but its popularity presents some issues. There is a limited number of spots for students there and it is continually in demand. There are two ways to get your child into the school.

1. Have a sibling who attends Fairview. Once you get one kid in the school, the rest of your kids can attend. During the first enrollment period, all siblings of current students are awarded spots.
2. Apply for admission, which is done on a "first come, first served" basis, after the sibling enrollment.

This enrollment period, which used to happen in the dead of winter, now occurs each November. The school announces how many spots are available for Preschool, Kindergarten and First Grade (after First Grade, they rarely admit new students because of the German language requirements); the lion's share of open spots are for Kindergarten. Earlier in the fall, Kelly and I went on a tour of the school and were told by administrators that there were approximately 72 spaces available for Kindergarten. This is a fairly large number compared to other Kindergarten years at the school, leaving me somewhat confident for getting Kaelyn enrolled. But I was secretly nervous, fearful that I might have to camp out to get here in there.

Even though the official registration takes place on Monday night at midnight, people get in line early. I mean really early. In previous years, parents had camped out for a couple of nights before hand to stake a place in line. Camping out has almost become a rite of passage for Fairview parents. Although the district can't encourage this practice, the school won't ignore that it's a reality. The majority of questions asked during our tour was concerning the potential line and the possibility of camping out. During this presentation, I made an attempt to calm people's fears, encouraging people to refrain from camping out as long as possible.

Of course, no one listens to me.

On Thursday afternoon, as Kelly, Kaelyn and I were enjoying a picnic before I taught my night class, Kelly received a call from a friend and current Fairview parent. Already, at 4:00 pm, there were people setting up tents. We were angry, but I still maintained a positive attitude. "There are plenty of spaces available," I reminded Kelly. "And there's no way we're going out there to camp tonight." I taught my class that night but by the 11pm local news, local TV stations were covering the camping parents. Still, my Facebook post that evening was, "I love my daughter but will not abandon logic and camp out four nights to get her into the right school (especially when there are plenty of spaces this year). Now one night . . . maybe."

I know nothing.

As I left for work Friday morning, I assured Kelly that we were going to fine. Still, I couldn't resist: curiosity led me to drive past the school to see the scene for myself. As I turning the corner, I was shocked. There were nearly fifty tents set up and people were continuing to roll in as news vans were parked all along. I quickly parked and checked the list that had developed: it was already over 55 people. Seeing the people continue to pull up and unpack made me sick. I called Kelly and let her know that it was inevitable—I was returning home to grab some things and get in line. By the time I went home, gathered some supplies, and headed back to the school, I signed in.

I was number 68 on the list.

While some of those in line before me were interested in Preschool or First Grade, the vast majority were there for Kindergarten. Fortunately I still had some room to spare. I was somewhere in the fifties out of 72 Kindergarten spots. At the very least, I now knew that Kaelyn was guaranteed to get in the school as long as I made it through the weekend until late Monday night.

So as I set up my tent Friday morning, still overcome by anger, I started to accept reality. I knew that this camping excursion had been coming for over five years now. It was finally time. I had accepted that the next 80+ hours of my life would be devoted to waiting in a line just to get my daughter into school.

______________________

* Fairview was originally located in a neighborhood named Fairview. Located near the University of Cincinnati, the old school building was architecturally attractive but too small. Two years ago, CPS constructed a new, larger building in Clifton proper, but they continued to use the Fairview moniker as well. As far as I know, people continue to refer to it simply as Fairview.

** In case you missed it, as I was getting settled on Friday morning, I was interviewed by an Enquirer reporter. There was even a picture of me published in the print edition. Click here to read the article.

Another one of those . . .

. . . "I know, I know, it's been a long time since I've posted here." That's just life. I am unapologetic.

I'm very excited about all the cool things I'm getting to do right now, many of them involving immense amounts of writing. So when it comes to writing for fun, I tend to pass.

But I haven't forgotten this place. Maybe this week I'll get something new up.

Five

I call them "rah-rah" moments. There are times when you just need to take a break and celebrate.

En route to Echo Church last Sunday night, I passed two churches celebrating anniversaries—one over 50 years, the other 100 years—and I felt somewhat inadequate. Five years of existence seems minuscule compared to those other congregations. But I like to think the humble beginnings of Echo makes us a true underdog story, so we continually need to reflect on how much God has blessed us.

I've always thought the cards were stacked against us:

• We started in the midst of an urban neighborhood where new churches go to die.
• We started with a core group of about ten people (four of whom had other opportunities which drew them away within the first year).
• We didn't fundraise to start the church.
• As minister, I've always been bi-vocational, from bread-making to supply preaching to teaching to college recruiting.
• And we broke virtually every church planting rule I knew of when we started.

And yet, we've lasted five years.

I'm happy. And Sunday night I took some time to share that with our church.

By the numbers, I listed the many things that has happened as a result of our church:

1. 250 worship services (featuring 250 Scripture readings, 800 songs sung, 1,213 bad jokes by me)
2. Over 100 different people who have called Echo their home at one time or another (not including all our visitors)
3. Almost $50,000 of our offerings directed towards benevolence&missions (that's over 20% of our total offerings)
4. Three community festivals sponsored.
5. Five (soon to be six) Halloween Trunk N Treat outreaches.
6. 2,000 meals served at the Walnut Hills Soup Kitchen.
7. Investing in the message of Jesus being taught not just in Walnut Hills, but the Cincinnati communities of Lower Price Hill, Westwood and Northside, as well as the nations of Poland, Pakistan, and Burma.

Numbers are nice, but I prefer to focus on all the different people God has brought our way. That's what we're about: connecting people with the God of the Universe. It's good work if you can get it.

And for that, we partied.

When we were nearing the completion of our first year of ministry, we took a group picture on the front steps of the church we rent. It was a great group of people. Here's Echo Church in 2006:

This past Sunday night, we tried it again. Even though there were some well-wishers in the crowd that aren't regulars, we were missing a quite a few people who were unable to attend. At the very least, it gives you a sense of how God has grown this vision.

And now that we're sufficiently motivated, we take down the party decorations and get back to work.

10.10.10

Sometimes, I think ahead. Early last year I realized that October 10th would take place on a Sunday. I knew that my preaching schedule called for me to teach through the book of Exodus in 2010, so I planned the series so I could begin the Ten Commandments on 10/10/2010. Pretty smart, eh? So on Easter we started studying the book. Now, starting Sunday, we're poised to look at each of the commandments a week at a time. But what I neglected to recognize then is that next week would also be the fifth anniversary of Echo Church. So a special day became even more special-er.

Please consider this your official invitation to join us at Echo Church at 6pm this Sunday as we complete our fifth year of ministry in the city. We'll be having a little pot-luck after the service and, rumor is, there will be a birthday motif in play.

God's been good to us. Let's party.

One Pitch

Throughout the fall, I've been teaching a good deal. It keeps me in the classroom until late at night. I knew that this would be problematic this past Tuesday night. The Reds had a chance to clinch the National League Central Division title and I wasn't going to be able to go to the game. But, if I played my cards right, I might be able to work something out.

Earlier that morning, I had picked up a ticket to the game. I knew I'd miss the majority of the game, but if the game didn't progress too quickly, I might have been able to catch the end and, most importantly, the postgame celebration. Sure enough, as I wrapped up class, I checked the score to discover that it was a tie ballgame at the beginning of the 8th. I ran to my car and started the decent from Price Hill to downtown. On the way, I was listening to the radio, hearing that Joey Votto was batting. Even though it might have been magical had he hit a home run, I was rooting against him; I knew I wouldn't be able to make it in time for the end of the game if he did. Votto struck out and, as I hit Second Street, I knew I had a chance.

I parked on the street about six blocks block away. Fortunately, I'm still in relatively good shape so my run to the stadium wasn't too strenuous. I made it in that stadium and discovered that there was a lady in my seat. The seat next to her was empty (and the whole crowd was standing anyway) so I took that place.

I never sat down.

I made it just in time to see Jay Bruce walk to the batter's box, swing at the first pitch, and send the game winner over the fence. I only saw one pitch, but it was the greatest moment in Reds baseball during the past decade. Even though I missed practically the entire game, I hung out for more than an hour after the game ended. I just wanted to soak up the scene. People were going crazy and I couldn't stop smiling. Our city is a much better place when the Reds are playing well. We love our team And I love for what it's meant to me over my lifetime.

• I was born in 1975, between the Reds back-to-back World Championships.
• My grandmother (my dad's mom) instilled within me a love for the Reds in the 1980's. Pete Rose, a Westside legend, was her favorite player. And he still is mine.
• In 1990, I watched almost all of the Reds' games this season on television with grandfather (my mom's dad). I almost view that as "our" championship.
• In 1999, our first full year of marriage, we watched an exciting team that fell just short.
• And during my daughter's young life, I've been sharing this love of our local team. She's doomed.

As I walked back to my car, traffic was still gridlocked but no one cared. Downtown was littered with people and the sound of car horns blaring. Regardless of what happens during this playoff run, I've had a great time with this team. Even if this only lasts for the equivalent of one pitch, it'll be yet another memory etched into my mind for the rest of my life.

Telling Our Story

A little over five years ago, I entered the Walnut Hills Christian Church for the second time. While the first time was just a momentary opportunity to check out the facility to see if our new church could rent it out, the second time was a more thorough examination of the building. And this time I had my camera with me. I snapped quite a few photos that day, but one of them stood out among the rest. It was this one:

It might be difficult to recognize what this is, but it's a baptistry— a pool in which people are baptized; at the time, it was being used by the church for storage. I transformed that image into a visual allegory for our young church: that we were called to come into this neighborhood, shake off the spiritual cobwebs, and call people to repentance. The goal I articulated for our new church was to redeem this scene and put that baptistry to good use.

Throughout those earlier years, I would bring out that baptistry photo a couple of times a year to remind people of its place in our story. "We are here," I declared, "to see this baptistry get used again." It became a sort of unofficial mantra of our church. But an interesting thing happened throughout those early years:

We baptized no one.

This is not because we did not teach the gospel. This is not because we were an insular congregation. This is not because we don't care about lost people. This is because many of the people who came to us over the years were renewing their faith—having once devoutly followed Jesus, they were returning to the church once again.

Unfortunately, for my church tradition, the litmus test for church success is baptism—if you're not baptizing people, then you're not being faithful. As a result, I've been involved in situations where the M.O. was "baptize first, ask questions later." Over my ministerial career, I regrettably baptized some people that I shouldn't have; they were in a rush for a cleansing rather than a complete transformation. As we started Echo, I assured myself that I would never again cheapen baptism. So I refuse to coerce people into doing it. Obviously, I teach it from the pulpit (it's impossible to engage the Scriptures and not come face to face with baptism), but I'm not going to scare someone into doing it just so I can feel like we have a successful church.

All of this brings me to this year. Since January I have been thinking about this topic even more. We've continued to add more people over the past couple of years and I'm sure some of them might never have been taught about obedience to baptism. Perhaps this year, we would finally fulfill that mission I captured in a picture years ago. I knew I'd be preaching through Exodus and that in 1 Corinthians the apostle Paul used Israel's Red Sea crossing as a metaphor for baptism. I imagined we'd have a general baptism day where we could celebrate baptism and see it fulfilled before our eyes. We had that service this past Sunday.

We baptized no one.

But God used all of this for a valuable lesson.

A couple of months ago, Kathy approached my wife to talk about baptism. Although she had grown up in Christ, and had even attended a Christian university, she had never been challenged with baptism. Something I said in a sermon resonated within her and she decided she wanted to be baptized. On a weeknight this summer, we had the baptistry filled with water, and my wife, my daughter, Kathy's husband and I witnessed her baptism. Yes, without any fanfare, Kathy became the first person baptized at Echo.

But the interesting thing is I do not believe that Kathy wasn't saved before this moment. She had lived a faithful life before the Lord but she had never been fully exposed to this understanding of baptism. Her decision was one of obedience. And that is what we at Echo are attempting to do in our ministry in the city: call all of God's children to obedience, which includes baptism in Him. We might only have one baptism under our belts, but our church strives to daily live in godly obedience.

One other thing: I asked Kathy to share her baptism with our church on Sunday. I even suggested, since she is quite the artist, that she make a work of art to express what happened through this process. She did and her is what it looks like:

And a new allegory is born.

We're going to get this picture framed and hang it somewhere in the building. That picture of a baptistry used as storage space will now be replaced with this image of art by a person who embraced obedience to the Lord. It's a powerful image.

I'm thankful that it's now part of our story.

Checking In

Sometimes I wonder why I still have a blog. I'm incredibly inconsistent in my posting, but I've finally become OK with that. Facebook and Twitter have severely neutered the popularity of blogs, but I continue to love the medium even if few read what I write. It helps me keep track of my life. Just the other day, I was wondering when a certain event happened. Since I knew it happened in the last six years, I was able to look in my archives and check the date. So even though you can follow me on Facebook, Twitter, or Flickr, I'm still keeping this thing going. Sure, I'm using it more as an online diary now, but all is well. So for you who still check in from time to time, thanks for reading. I'm sorry I'm not contributing great content right now, but allow me to present a litany of excuses.

1. The house is still for sale. One month ago we made the decision to start. We've only had one viewing thus far, but it's only been on the market a couple of weeks and we have yet to host our first open house. We're still feeling good about things, though. You wouldn't believe how clean our house is.

2. Church is amazing. We had another good summer and are developing great community. I continue to feel pride for the people of Echo and how God is using them throughout our city. We're studying Exodus right now, and will examine the Ten Commandments this fall. October will mark our fifth year of ministry. I'm wondering if we can still be classified as a new church . . .

3. The day job keeps me busy too. We have a two-tiered fall admissions which means there's been no let-up. I'm still enjoying it. My job allows me the opportunity to meet some amazing people embarking on life change. It's a good gig.

4. I'm teaching again. I basically had the summer off, which I thoroughly enjoyed. But I do love spending some time in the classroom, so it's exciting to get back at. Right now, I'm teaching every week throughout the rest of the year so the break was a blessing.

5. Kaelyn is starting preschool next week. Needless to say, she's growing up. I think it's affecting me more than Kelly right now. But everyday with our little girl is a pleasure (even when she isn't at her best). She's more aware daily and I'm loving the person she's becoming.

6. Kiddie soccer is starting up again. This will be the third session I'll be coaching the Mount Adams kids soccer. It's just practice—no competitive games— but it's just another thing on the schedule.

7. I'm taking yet another class. I'm conditionally accepted into my doctoral program until I complete two more seminary courses. I opted for an online class this semester, but I'll soon be able to set my academic focus soley on doctoral work soon.

So, yeah, blogging takes a back seat. But even though things are a little hectic, I'm loving life.

And having a wife who is able to keep everything behind-the-scenes working seamlessly is the greatest blessing of them all. I couldn't imagine what I'd do without her. Kelly makes my busy life enjoyable. We've had some great family time over the summer. We're looking forward to the fall.

That said, here are five things that I'm excited about right now:

1. The Walnut Hills Festival is this week. Echo has been involved in it since the beginning, and it's been a great vehicle to establish our relationship with the neighborhood. If you're not doing anything next Saturday (September 11th), you should join us at the corner of Kemper and Taft for food, folks and fun.

2. Shawn and Melissa are getting married. I'm claiming this as our first official Echo wedding as Shawn was part of our core group before taking a ministry and Melissa has been with us since she graduated from college. I'm excited that I get to officiate and can at least say that if our church has done nothing else, it is responsible for a marriage.

3. My sister is having her fourth child. That'll make 14 grandchildren among my siblings. That's insane.

4. The Cincinnati sports world is alive. It's been 11 years since September baseball has mattered in Cincinnati. I'm not saying that the Reds are a dominant team, but once you get into the postseason, anything can happen.

5. Fall television is ready to roll. I know that sounds peculiar, but we're TV people. Our DVR will get a workout this fall as we get the most out of our cable bill.

If you need me, I'm around.

Making A Move

I've been somewhat off the grid the past week or so. It wasn't for a lack of ideas or comments. We're trying to sell our condo.

It's insane, really. We're satisfied with where we live and it has served us well. But as we look towards the future, and our desire to spend the rest of our lives here in Walnut Hills, it feels like time to transition from a condominium to a house. Even the market is a bear right now, we're thinking that there's not going to be a significant upswing in the next couple of years, so why not now?

This decision was a significant one for our family, but we decided to go all out. In this market, it isn't enough to just list your home—it means making your home attractive to the buyer. Our constant HGTV watching has been helpful in this process because we believe that we now know the common selling mistakes. Despite having a beautiful place, there was a list of projects that we had been thinking of for a while. I made a spreadsheet (an obvious sign that I'm a dork) and it numbered over 80 different tasks. I took some vacation days last week in order to work the list. By Monday of this week, we made it completely through.

Among other things we rented a storage unit, decluttered, made multiple trips to Goodwill, and painted practically the entire home, cleaning it from top to bottom. I'll admit that because of the working conditions and stressed involved, Kelly and I had a couple of arguments. But when it was all over, we were happy and pleased with the process. For you voyeurs out there who are curious to see the finished result, I posted some of the photos the realty photographer took of our place. To peek at them, click here.

We've been really appreciative of friends who have offered support. Multiple people have told us that they're praying for us. It seems kind of peculiar; there are much greater needs in this world than us selling our place when he don't have to. But that's why we're not sweating it. It if happens, praise God. If not, we'll be content to stay where we're at . . . and we'll have a practically new place.

I'll keep you posted.